Happy Mother's Day

If only we could sit on a cloud somewhere and look down and try to understand the world from a transcendent angle, we would get the Point of Life. But sitting on a cloud would only allow us to see the world, not the whole universe. And to see the whole universe, you have to be outside of the universe. Do you have any idea how big the universe is? Neither do I. But I am pretty sure it's really really big. So imagine for a minute that you could hold a video camera and point it at the universe and then zoom in on the Milky Way Galaxy, then on our solar system, then on our world, then on North America, Illinois, and finally on my little bungalow. We could keep going, of course, down to the tiny universes that exist within the subatomic structure, but I already just had to look up the word "subatomic" to make sure I spelled it right, so let's just not go there.

When I look in the eyes of my little angels, it's kind of like that video camera zooming in and out of the universe. In their eyes, I see both the DNA and the stories wrapped around those double helix strands. I see that I'm not the first mother who has been frustrated by a whiny and tired kid in church who is throwing a fit (I might be the first, however, to watch that fit be about putting down her bible for communion). I am also not the first whose heart bursts with pride when her son is sweet to his baby sister (fetching her slippers for her cold feet yesterday morning). I am also not the first who has spanked in anger (last week when the same loving boy pinched my butt with Matt's pliers). I have been blessed by three loving, silly, smart, and sometimes naughty little beans. Being a mom, I feel like I have sat upon that cloud and understood the meaning of life. I raise my glass tonight to all those moms who have wept with joy and frustration at their kids, and all the women who look forward to the day that they will, and all who are terrified of the day that they will. Happy Mother's Day!